- JOE ROOT
He was indeed the ‘Root’ of all problems for Australia in the Ashes held in England earlier this year. A competent operator on the crease, Root has evolved into a proficient batsman who is equally adept against pace and spin. He had a commendable run in England’s tour of West Indies in April, where he scored 358 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 89.5. His sublime form with the bat continued throughout the 5 match Ashes series, where he produced 460 runs at an impressive average of 57.5. In totality, Root has notched up 1288 runs this year at a mammoth average of 53.66 with 3 hundreds and 9 fifties (with a top score of 182* in Grenada). In October, he leapfrogged Steven Smith to claim the numero uno status in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen. The 24 year old Yorkshire man displayed his class in the recently concluded Test series between Pakistan and England in the UAE, where he faced the likes of Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz with utmost confidence. Add to that his prowess as a part time off break bowler, and what you get is a fine player who can do a tidy job with the ball whenever he is called upon to do so.
